Product Description

The PT-AX200 is ideal for watching sports events or playing video games in daylight conditions and surely for viewing movies in a dark room. Powerful 2000-lumen brightness and new Light Harmonizer 2 technology make it easy for people to enjoy vibrant, dynamic images even if they don't have a special theater room. Panasonic's advanced technologies improve color reproduction accuracy in movies, to deliver images with a refined "Hollywood picture quality," making this projector ideal as the heart of a home cinema system.

Product Details

• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: PTAX200UCIRCUIT
• Dimensions: 4.50" h x 15.50" w x 11.80" l, 10.80 pounds

Features

• 1280 x 720, 720p HD Resolution and 6,000:1 Contrast Ratio
• 2000 Lumens Brightness via a 220 W UHM lamp
• LCD x 3 R, G, B
• 2 HDMI, 1 Component, 1 S-Video, 1 Video Inputs
• Comes with power cord, wireless remote control and batteries for remote

Customer Reviews

Months of agonizing down to my purchase selection
Didn't think buying a projector would take as long as it did. I've been researching projectors off and on for the past 2 and a half years and have enjoyed the process of testing a virtually endless onslaught of manufacturers and different image quality. Finally decided on a Panasonic PT-AX200U due to a special running through HTmarket.com that had a mail in rebate for an additional 1 year warranty on the purchase of a Panasonic projector. I bought my projector for $1299 and have had about a month to play with the projector.

Initial highlights - good projector for the money if you have a good source (HD DVD/Blu Ray/upconverting DVD player). Very easy setup with image adjustments. I was up and running in 5 minutes.

Friends and family are stunned at the size of the screen images capable with this projector (I'm running a 110 inch screen). Clearly capable of more than that.

Good image for old format DVDs IF you have a DVD upconverter to 720p/1080i/1080p. I initially ran a couple of DVDs, the Incredibles, Lord of the Rings, the Matrix, Blade, into through my Denon DVD 2900 (originally a $1000 DVD player) and was somewhat disappointed by the pixelation and some noticeable Screen Door Effect (SDE).

My brother came over the following weekend with his Sony Playstation 3 and we ran one of his videogames through the HDMI cable into the projector to see if we could tell a difference - whoa, noticeable difference in image detail and elimination of the pixelation and SDE.

Went out to Best Buy the following weekend to buy a cheap RCA dvd up converter for $30 and now run all my DVDs through it.

Would recommend this projector if pairing to a high gain screen - the bulb brightness, while bright for stock, definitely requires a high gain (+1.3) screen to maximize some of the darker image films (Blade/Matrix/Lord of the Rings/Aliens).

Why and Why Not, To Buy This Projector.
I am the lead installer for a company that installs RealHomeTheaters, so hopefully my experience can be of some help. This projector has some great features not found on all projectors in it's class.

1. Great throw ratio. ( the zoom lens on this projector allows you to throw a 120" image from as close as 11' and from as far from the screen as 22'.)

2. Brightness. ( at 2000 lumens it is one of the brightest 720p 16:9 home theater projectors in it's class. This allows you to overcome ambient light that would "washout" dimmer projectors.)

3. Lens Shift. ( give you the ability to mount the projector off camber to the screen and in most cases higher or lower than normally possible with other projectors.)

But, if you have a normal room with controlled lighting and are able to install the projector at a normal height (7 to 10' off the floor) and centered on the screen. You will not benefit from this projector. Consider the Mitsubishi HC1500 and be sure to read my review on it as well. It will give you just as strong of an end result and save you some money. Provided you do not need any of the three features above.

Hope this helps get your RealHomeTheaters off the ground!

Great Value in Home Theater
I purchased the PT-AX200U for my dedicated home theater room in Aug 2007 after much reading and reviewing all options. Projectorcentral dot com is one of the best sources of information such as placement as well as reviews (both professional and consumer).

About the projector: Sharp, clear and bright (2000 lumens is really bright). While this PJ is 'only' 720p several professional reviewers have dubbed this the 'poor-mans' 1080p. Panasonic has developed a technology called smooth screen that effectively minimizes screen door effect and it really works. I have my viewing area exactly 1.8x the diagonal (105" screen) and there is NO pixel distinction.

Setup: This was a snap. I used the much debated Avia setup DVD and the "Cinema 1" Mode was spot on out of the box. Looked great.

Gaming: While we are not a gaming family, we do have a Wii hooked up with great results. We also have the Fisher Price Smart Cycle and it looks awful - terrible resolution a la 1985. The PJ just exacerbates the lousy FP technology in the Smart Cycle - Don't misunderstand - the Smart Cycle is great - just needs real graphics.

Placement: This PJ has phenomenal flexibility with incredible lens shift and 2.0x zoom. To make a 106" picture unit can be from about 10 feet to about 20 feet away. Look carefully at zoom and lens shift before you buy.

Compatibility: This PJ accepts nearly all inputs (i.e. 1080p/24) and does not have to put the picture through 2:3 pull down. If you are considering a Blu-Ray or HD DVD be sure to check the signal compatibility of the PJ you are considering.
Noise: I sit under and just behind the PJ installed on the ceiling and it's barley audible with no other sound in the room. Very good dB rating.

Summary: Great value. Great picture. Easy installation. 2 HDMI ports. Highly recommended!